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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24172615">Clean Act</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizifer/pseuds/lizifer'>lizifer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, M/M, Soft Richie Tozier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:15:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,899</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24172615</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizifer/pseuds/lizifer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Richie kind of loves taking hot baths, but he doesn't do it often. </p><p>Richie likes bubble baths, so Eddie makes sure he can take them comfortably.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>151</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Clean Act</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I told <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/annejumps/pseuds/annejumps">annejumps</a> that I thought Richie liked bubble baths and Eddie should get him a tub he fits in and she said I had to write this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richie sets his glasses on the edge of the counter and steps into the tub, groaning as he settles into a mostly comfortable position. </p><p>Richie kind of loves taking hot baths, but he doesn't do it often. For one thing, it's hard to get his brain to slow down to the point where he's able to sit still long enough to make a bath worth it.</p><p>For another, he doesn't usually have bubble bath stuff on hand, and bubbles are <i>essential</i> to a proper bathing experience. </p><p>And last but not least, he doesn't really <i>fit</i> comfortably in most bathtubs.</p><p>But now, tired from a long day of meetings and alone in the house, Richie is treating himself.</p><p>The water is just the right temperature, heat soaking into him, sweet scented bubbles floating on the surface tickling Richie's nose and he sinks down.</p><p>He crosses his ankles and rests his legs on the edge of the tub, wincing at the cool air on his wet feet and closes his eyes.</p><p>Richie hasn't been resting for long when he hears the front door open and slam closed again. Eddie, home from work. "Rich?" Eddie calls, probably after noticing that Richie isn't in his usual place on the couch with his laptop. "You home?"</p><p>"In here," Richie calls back, opening his eyes to watch the Eddie-shaped blur appear in the bathroom doorway.</p><p>"Hey," Eddie says, sounding a little relieved. "What do you want for dinner?" He's leaning on the doorframe, his arms crossed (probably. Richie can't totally tell, between the steam and the lack of glasses).</p><p>Richie sighs, thinking about it, and drops his feet back into the tub. He shifts a little, trying to decide if it's more important to keep his shoulders submerged or have his knees in the water. "Is there any lo mein left? We should finish that off." The water sloshes gently as he moves.</p><p>"Probably." Eddie pushes off the doorframe and stands beside the tub for a moment, looking down at Richie.</p><p>Richie grins up at him, especially when Eddie reaches down to ruffle his hair. "Give me half an hour, I'll help with the leftovers." He straightens out his legs, bubbles clinging to his shoulders and chest as he sits up properly.</p><p>Eddie makes a little sound in his throat and leans down to give Richie a quick, slightly damp kiss. "All right," he agrees, and scoops up a little cloud of bubbles in one hand. He deposits the bubbles on the top of Richie's head, and Richie laughs.</p><p>Richie sinks back down as Eddie turns to leave. He hears Eddie's footsteps pause just before Richie submerges his head entirely, goosebumps crawling over his knees and thighs.</p><p>-------</p><p>Richie's been on tour for three weeks, he's exhausted and he hates sleeping alone, and he's only been able to talk to Eddie for like, five minutes at a time because their schedules don't line up most of the time. It's the worst. Why does he do this, again?</p><p>Richie almost melts in relief when Eddie answers his call, unable to help smiling at the sight of that familiar face, Eddie's warm brown eyes. "Eds! There you are."</p><p>"Here I am," Eddie agrees, smiling back. He looks a little flushed. "How was last night's show?" </p><p>Richie had texted Eddie after the show, of course, but Richie is funnier out loud, and it's not the same, so Richie is happy to tell Eddie all about it. Until - Eddie's just moved to the kitchen, where the light is better, and Richie squints at him on the phone. "Hey, hold on. Why are you all sweaty and... Is that <i>dust</i> all over your shirt? What are you up to?"</p><p>Eddie scowls at him, wrinkling his brow in a frown. "Mind your business, Tozier," he says, but he can't quite keep the smile out of his voice, even though he's aiming for stern.</p><p>"Eddie, I'm hurt! You're not my business? What, I go on one tour and now you're some stranger?"</p><p>Eddie's laugh is exactly what Richie needed, why he'd called. He feels more settled already, girded to make it through another week of travel and hotel rooms and late nights. "Yeah, when you're out of the house I become a completely different person. Your very own Jekyll and Hyde. I haven't done laundry since you left."</p><p>"You minx." Richie gasps dramatically, and settles in more comfortably on the hotel room bed. "Tell me what other kinky shit you're getting up to without me."</p><p>"You sure you can handle it? I don't want to fry your brain. Ruin you for anyone else."</p><p>It's a joke, but it's too late. Richie already knows that no one else will ever compare to Eddie. </p><p>That's even clearer a little while later when they're both catching their breath and Eddie smiles at him with his eyes all soft and says "Hey. I miss you," and Richie's heart grows three sizes or something else anatomically improbable and dangerous. </p><p>"Miss you too," Richie replies, adding up the hours until he gets home.</p><p>-------</p><p>As a general rule, Eddie is bad at waiting and worse at airports, so there's a car to pick Richie up and take him home.</p><p>Richie lets himself in and calls out "Eddie, baby, I'm home!" </p><p>From the living room, there's the sound of Eddie cursing and then. Then there's Eddie right there in person for the first time in weeks. "Stay right here," Eddie says, putting his hands up in front of him and then starting to back out of the room. </p><p>Richie drops his bag and holds out his arms. He's got the urge to pout, but he ignores it. Mostly. "Eds, come here."</p><p>Eddie softens and comes back to give him a kiss. "Stay here," he says again, and Richie nods. Whatever Eddie's got planned, he'll wait.</p><p>Eddie scurries out of the room and Richie listens to him moving around in the direction of the master suite. He raises his eyebrows as he hears water start running.</p><p>Soon enough, Eddie's back, and dragging Richie through the house by the hand. "Okay, so I might have gone a little overboard, but you weren't here and, well...." Eddie looks nervous as he stops just inside their bathroom.</p><p>Richie takes two steps into the room and stops short. This is not what the bathroom looked like when he left. "What - what is this?" There's a new tub, and it's much bigger than the old one. It's slowly filling up, and Eddie apparently found some nice bubble stuff, because the water is blue-green under the growing mound of bubbles.</p><p>There's also a very fancy looking shower, and new tiles, but all Richie really cares about is the bathtub right now. </p><p>Well, that and Eddie, who looks adorable and anxious. Richie swallows hard. "Did you... redo the bathroom for <i>me</i>?" </p><p>Eddie shrugs. His face is red, now, and he's not quite meeting Richie's eyes. "I mean. I thought you'd like a tub you'd fit in. But the shower and the heated floor was for me."</p><p>"We don't know yet if I fit in the tub." </p><p>Eddie laughs, his shoulders relaxing a fraction. "Take your bath, asshole." </p><p>"Yes, sir." Richie focuses on getting out of his clothes. He can't think too hard about what the new bathroom really means or he's going to get overwhelmed. He can feel Eddie's eyes on him, and his ears and cheeks get warm. </p><p>Eddie leans against the counter and wolf-whistles at Richie as he takes off his socks and underwear, and Richie winks back at him.</p><p>He turns off the water and gets into the tub; leaning back, he discovers that he does indeed fit, legs and everything. Richie sinks into the water with a groan. "I'm <i>never</i> getting out of this tub," he says.</p><p>"You'll get all wrinkly," Eddie replies, and comes over to gently take Richie's glasses from his face and set them on the counter. Then he sits down on the closed toilet. </p><p>"I'm already wrinkly, have you seen my face?" Richie says, closing his eyes.</p><p>Eddie snorts, but when he speaks again his voice is all soft and fond in a way that makes Richie want to squirm. "Yeah, you're ancient. And not at all handsome. I don't know why I keep you around."</p><p>"Apparently so you can ninja renovate my house. Can I make a request? Sauna in the backyard next."</p><p>"<i>Our</i> house."</p><p>Oh. That hits him a little harder than he expected, and Richie swallows around a lump in his throat. He opens his eyes to look in Eddie's direction. "Yeah, our house," he agrees, and his voice sounds almost normal. He swallows again, blinking away sudden tears. "So you did this yourself?"</p><p>"As much of it as I could," Eddie says, and then grabs a folded towel and lays it on the floor beside the tub. "Duck under, I'll wash your hair." He kneels on the towel. "Ben helped me find what I needed. Had to hire someone to do the floors."</p><p>Richie does as he's told, and almost purrs as Eddie strokes his fingers through his hair, lathering up. "God, Eddie, you spoil me."</p><p>"Yeah, well," Eddie replies, and Richie can hear his dimples. "If I redid anyone else's bathroom as a surprise, they'd kick me out of their house. Rinse."</p><p>"And they'd be fucking stupid, this bathroom kicks ass." Richie rinses, and tilts his head to accept a kiss, lifting a hand to cup Eddie's jaw.</p><p>"You're welcome."</p><p>Richie squints at his arm, something strange catching his attention. "Oh my God, is that glitter? This is a glitter bath. My chest hair is going to be shimmery for days."</p><p>Eddie laughs and kisses him again. "Enjoy your bath. Come find me when you're done." He groans as he stands, and leaves Richie alone to soak. </p><p>It's been weeks and so Richie doesn't stay in the bath for long, wrapping himself in a warm towel (heated towel rack too, Eddie has really outdone himself, holy shit). </p><p>Richie takes his time looking at the rest of the bathroom: upgraded sinks, a bigger mirror, the big, roomy shower has like a thousand showerheads. Richie cannot wait to test it out with Eddie later.  </p><p>"I have a complaint," Richie says as he walks into the bedroom, towel slung around his waist. </p><p>Eddie looks up from his phone, frowning. "A complaint? Do you know what a pain grouting the new shower was? You don't get to complain."</p><p>Richie laughs and plops down on the bed beside Eddie. "Oh yes I do, I need to keep up with you."</p><p>Eddie rolls his eyes, and Richie grins wider. "What is it?" </p><p>"You did construction on our house and didn't send me any pictures of you doing it." Richie puts some whine into his voice as he says it. He wraps his arms around Eddie, pulling him close and nuzzling at Eddie's neck. "You owe me beefcake pictures."</p><p>Eddie makes a disgusted noise but squirms enough to get his arms around Richie too. "Beefcake," he repeats, and Richie nods. "Fuck, you're predictable." </p><p>"Beefcake pics or I riot." </p><p>"Will you shut up and kiss me already?"</p><p>"No," Richie says, so that Eddie will kiss him to shut him up.</p><p>Eddie does. </p><p>They test out the shower later, because Eddie refuses to go to sleep with glitter everywhere.</p><p>It's <i>amazing</i>. </p><p>The shower's okay, too.</p>
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